1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with a hand-operated retrieving device and especially to a collecting receptacle for the sanitary pickup and disposal of refuse, garbage, animal excrement and other or similar offensive materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A recurrent problem of pet owners, especially for those who are city dwellers, is the effective disposal of pet droppings without littering curbsides, sidewalks and areaways. Within the past several years health officials have become more cognizant of the hazards incident with the indiscriminate littering resulting from pet droppings such as dog excrement. Furthermore, when these deposits occur on sidewalks, they create a nuisance and inconvenience to the passerby. As a result, communities and municipalities with ever increasing frequency have been enacting ordinances requiring the pet owner to clean up after his pet.
Several different types of devices have attempted to provide one with a convenient and sanitary method for complying with such ordinances. Many of these devices employ brooms, scoops or shovel-like implements for moving the deposits from a sidewalk or walkway and/or disposing of same at curbside. This, however, would not comply with most of the newer ordinances which require the materials to be removed and properly disposed of, such as by bagging and placing in a waste receptacle.
Other devices disclosed in the prior art such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,716,263, 3,937,509, and 4,042,269 do provide a separate and disposable bag within the pickup device. The bag and contents can then be disposed of in a sanitary manner. An inherent problem of such devices, however, is that they are difficult to manipulate in such manner as to quickly and efficiently load and then dispose of the waste in the collection bag. Some of these devices utilize a scooping, brushing, or sweeping action, whereas others employ a grappling or clamshell pickup operation. Such approaches have distinct shortcomings and in many incidents do not remove the entire deposit.
The present invention, in contrast, utilizes collecting blades adapted to slide under the material so as to capture same within a waste collection bag. Although this concept is generally shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,436, there are distinct differences in the applicant's improved design utilizing an independent waste collection bag which can be sealed prior to disposal.
Another disadvantage of the prior art devices is that they do not provide an apparatus having self-cleaning features as in the present invention.
The pickup and disposal device of this invention overcomes many of these disadvantages and shortcomings of the prior art. The employment of a pair of pivotal collector blades which close over the mouth of a receptacle provide for effective loading of a waste receptacle bag. Furthermore, the bag can be completely sealed prior to removal from the receptacle. In addition, a feature of this invention is that it includes an integral cleaning mechanism and liquid flushing system.